Fishing tool assembly



April 4, 1961 2,978,030

W. G. GREEN ETAL FISHING TOOL ASSEMBLY Filed Jan. 17, 1957 I WILL/AM a.GREEN, MORRIS B. WH/TE &

VERNON M. PR/TCHARD INVENTORS 2A. o wpe.

AGENT United States Patent-O This invention relates generally to oilwell servicing ment known in the trade asa fishing tool.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a wire line operateddevice which may be lowered into equipment and more particularly to thatclass of. equip:

a well bore to remove equipment stuckft-herein by" ap plying a greaterupward pulling forc'ethereo'n than might be applied ,thru the wire l-inealone. 7

Another object is -toprovidea pulling tool of the character describedwhich. includes 'a hydraulic pump and corresponding pulling cylinderwhereby a hydraulic jack action may be applied to the pulled.

An additional object is; to provide a; .wire' line fishing tool which isadapted to be anchored in placetwithin the tubingwalls -to provide astable base from whichthe pullingv force may be applied"so?that-the wire'line-will not be subjectedto theentifiepullingl force. j v

And still another. object-is to' provide a.cyl,indrical:

equipment to be 2,978,030 Patented Apr. 4, 1951 2 materials such as sandof lime, carried at high velocities through the restriction; Thus, ithas become customary, as also in the caseiof the standing valves inapumping-Well, to make these chokes in the form of a retrievableapparatugto beset or -pulled from the surface,

using a Wire line and appropriate tools.

Generally these chokes are set from the surface, us

' ing .072 steel wire line, having a breaking strength,

when new, of about 1,200 pounds dead Weight. Many times, due tocorrosion or the rriating parts, or th iritrusionof sand, or othermaterials, or because the parts become galled, the wire line isincapable of loosening the choke, and'this re uires the pulling of theentire string of tubing from the well. In a high-pressure well, forsafety and convenience, it is; necessary to kill the well, that is,-load it with water, to prevent it from flowing-oil all around while thepulling operation is going on. All. this is quite expensive.

Many "times, too, when the present equipment for retrieving the choke issuccessful, the choke is loosened, and is blown 'up the hole, by theescaping high pressure gas, alongwith the tools and wire above. Thisinvariably leads to a'longdrawn out fishing job, and many times requiresthe pulling of the tubing,'after killing the well and the laboriousextraction of the wadded and kinkd wire line from the tubing, a joint ata time.-

. Referring now more particularly to the characters of 7 reference inthe drawing, it' will be observed that the well bore tool having,aifcaptiveoil supply whiehsforms the mediumtor, applying the-anecessary.force to1.=first lockthe tool in place-in the; welt b'ore' and thenapply pulled. M

And yet another object is toiprovidewwirexline con trolled hydraulicpowered fishing: toolin whichtsucces sive strokes are employed toprovidezthe increaseddiw draulic pressure necessary to pull a piece ofequipment stuck in a well, but in which tool thepr'essure build up is'easily released upon completionrofithe job for removing the fishing tooland retrieved equipment from the- And an additional object is to providea wire line operated' fishing, tool of: this character which isprevented from being; accidentally blown out of-the well upon therapidrelease of the stuck equipment. w t

Thesean'd other-objects and advantages will be' ap-' parent from anexamination of: the following specification and drawing inlwhich: r .1

Fig. 1 represents a cross sectional elevational. view' of the powerapplying. fishing tool of this invention;

Fig.v 2is' a-side elevationalwiew of an oil tubing choke remover tool:which is used with the device of Fig. 1 to form a complete choke removertool assembly.

Fig. 3 is a schematic outline drawing to? illustrate the operation 05the oil pump section of thisifivantiorr.

Fig. 4;-is,.a: cross sectional-viewtaken alongithe lines Fig: 5 is. afragmentary detail elevat-ional view" :ofthe: pullingcylinder'piston ofthis-invention.

In many installations for theproduction; ofwan oil and or gas well, inthe interest of conservation,- and: also for the purpose of safety, itis common to install: a bottom hole choke, or restriction, in: the:tubing. ex tending from the bottom to thetopof the well, fortheconduction of the oilto the top.- This fchoke or restriction, inspite of being made of extra hard metal; is frequently worn or eroded"by the acti'oraofi abrasive overall fishing tool, indicated generally at2 consists basically-of an upper wire line operated oil pump or' power'jmeans" section 3, a central holding unit or holding. means section 4,and a lower pulling cylinder or pulling means section 5,="fromwhichtprojects a stem or shank 55 forming the lower portion of a piston6 g for attachment to a choke removeror pulling tool 7 ing an increased:ratio force :to theuequipment' to bet thereof.- Upper socket 12 of thepump section, 3-is adapted to receive a wire line 13 by which tool 2 is013- in operational relationship for the purpose of removing a stuck or.frozen choke 8 or other oil well equipment from a well boreor' tubing.v

The pump section 3 includes, a piston 10: adapted to reciprocatevertically'inJa cylinder housing llwhich is supported longitudinallyin-,tool Znear the upper part eratecland supported in tubing 14. Socket12- together with side wall 16 incloses a chamber 15 which-includesanupper spring compartment 17 and a lower oil reservoir 18. Spring.compartment 17 includes a; non-cop rosiye compression spring 19 whichoperates between quired function of a reservoir balance, and one suchconstruction is seen in Fig. 1 to comprise a thin plate not numbered)against which the spring 19- rests at its lower end, and a thickermember which extends beyond the ends of the thin plate and is curved toengage the side walls16 to form:- a seal against escape of the oil Ffrom compartment 18 into compartment 17. A second spring 21'preloadsanchor plate 22 .to which wire line 13 is attached" whereby theplate and spring act as e a shock absorber to sunden loads ap lied tothewire line. A breathen hole" 23 permits ambient fluid in" tub"- ing 9'toenter compartment 17 and assist in pr es'surizing balance 20: 'Sidewall16 engages the top end of piston" 10 by means of threads 24" andthisithre'aded engagement is sealed by O-ring' 25'. A ball check valve26 is preloaded: by spring 27 which: operates between ball 2'6 and lowerspring. seat 29"to" keep ball 26' closed against upper valve seat 31.and seats2 9; 31 are all located in longitudinal channel The: ball 2-6,spring 27,

30 which opens into compartment 18 at the top and terminatesintermediate the length of piston 10. A radial'channel32' connectschannel30 with an annular chamber 33, which in turn is connected tocentral chamber 34 by way of channel 35, whereby fluid under presnels 30and 32' into chamber 33 and thence through channel 35 and into chamber34. An adjustable check valve assembly comprising a ball 36, a spring37, and a threaded spring seat 38 are installed in cavity 39 at thelower end of piston in such a manner that ball- 36 closes channel 35when fluid pressure therein drops below. a predetermined figure.

Once fluid enters chamber 33 it has access'to the in-' what might bedescribed as a spring return hydraulic.

cylinder. The holding unit section 4 is virtually all contained withinhousing 50 which threadedly engages the lower end of pump cylinderhousing 11 at its upper end} and is itselfthreaded at its lower end toengage housing 51 of pulling. cylinder section 5. Pistons 45 include avertical oblong opening 45A to permit passage therethrough of tube 42,and also provide operational space for spring 49. A pair of holes 45B inpiston 45'wi'l1 permit fluid under pressure entering opening 45A to getbetween piston 45 and housing 50 so that an operating pressure may beapplied to piston 45. The preferred arrangement ofpistons 45 is avertical seriesof four units operating in the same plane but inalternating directions as indicated on the drawing. I

A baflle 52 separates the interior of housing 51 into a specialreservoir compartment 53 and a piston cylinder 54 in which piston 6 isadapted-to operate. The lowerend or depending projecting shank or stem55 of piston 6 projects through and-beyond the lower end of housing 51for attachment by way of its threads 56 to the mating threads 57 ofchoke remover tool 7. Battle 52 is rigidly but removably'installed inthe interior of housing 51 and includes a restricted orifice 58 throughwhich I fluid must flow to enter reservoir 53.-- Tube 42 extendslongitudinally and in'slideable relation from pump section 3 downthrough piston 10, housings 11, 50 and baflle 52, and is rigidlyattached only to piston 6. Chamber 40 connects with -a transversechannel 59 which in turn opens into cylinder chamber 54 below piston 6."The lower side of piston 6 near its juncture with projecting end 55 istapered at 60 to insure that a small annular volume 61 of chamber 54will always be open to receive fluid from tube chamber 40 to start thejacking operation.

In operation, the complete assembly of the holdingtool 2 and the chokeremover tool 7 is lowered down a well bore tubing 14 until the springloaded dogs 65 of the tool 7 engage the knob head 66 of choke 8, which,

for purposes of this invention, is assumed to be stuck or frozen bycorrosion 67 in its seat 68 in .tu bing. 1.4..

Now an upward pull of wire line 13 will lift socket "12' 65 of housing11 and the exterior of tubing 42. As piston and pump piston 10 whichslideably engages the interior 10 moves upward, its circumferentialshoulder 69 compresses the volume of annular chamber 33 toward upperseal 70 and shoulder 71 of housing 11, so that any noncompressible fluidtherein is forced by ball valve 36 and thru channel 35 and. into chamber34; any continued pressure forces the fluid on thru ports 41 and intochamber 40 as far down as plug 72. Since port 44 is above plug 72 andopens into cylinder 43, the pressurized fluid will sure will move fromcompartment 18 through chan-" flow into cylinder 43 and expand pistons45 outward with suflicient pressure to overcome springs 49 until thesharp ridge 47 of these pistons has engaged tubing 14 sufliciently tohold the tool assembly 2 in place in tubing 14. Any further build-up ofpressure on fluid P will force the fluid thru small bleeder port 73 andinto the lower chamber 40 of tubing 42 which chamber connects with crosschannel 59 and into chamber 60 whereafter any additional pressurizedfluid will raise piston 6 and consequently exert an upward pulling forceon end 55, on remover tool 7 and ultimately on choke 8. To prevent a toosudden pull out of choke 8 and to allow the presthru restricted orifice58 and into chamber 53'.

Each piston 45 is equipped with an O-ring sure in tubing 14 above seat68 to gradually equalize. to that below seat 68, a supply of trappedfluid T is placed in chamber 64; it will be observed that as thepressure is raised the fluid T will pass from chamber 54 slowly Thistransaction acts as a shock absorber against sudden jars and alsoprevents the-holding tool 2 from becoming dislodged and being blown upthe tubing by the sudden release of pent up gases as might result uponsudden.

removal of choke 8..

After a quantity of fluid F is forced out ofchamber 33 as it is reducedin volume, more fluid must come in to replace that evacuated as thechamber 33 is restored to its original size, and this fluid is drawn inpast the check valveincluding ball 26 when piston 10 returns to itsoriginal position by the action of tension springs .74 assisted by itsown weight and the additional weight of wire line 13. The upper end ofspring 74 is anchored in plug .75 which threadedly engages the undersideof piston 10' at spaced locations, and the lower end of spring 74 isattached to athin circular anchor plate 76 installed in cavity 77 in thelower end'ofhousing 11, after which .a'sealing plug 78 is threaded intocavity 77. Chamber 79 is vented at 8010 avoid creation of a vacuum bythe upward movement of piston 10. When additional fluid F has thusentered chamber 30, another upward pull on wireline 13 will start:asecond cycle of fluid movement into chamber 54 and thus function as ahydraulic jack in'applying an upward pull on choke remover tool 7. Ithas been calculated that in one model of this fishing tool, a 300 poundpull on the wire line will provide a 6,000 pound force on the removertool.

After choke'8has been loosened, pistons 45 of bolding"unitsection"4maintain their grip on tubing 14 untilthe pressure has partiallyequalized in the manner previously described. When the pressure belowseat 68 is released by freeing choke 8, then the greater pressure belowseat 68 contributes to the upward movement of piston 6. As piston 6 isfurther moved upward under additional upward strokes on wire line socket12, oil

in compartment 54 passes thru orifice 58 and into compartment 53, asdescribed, until piston 6 is adjacent baffle? 52 at which point the endof tube 42 containing cap 81' has moved upward toward balance 20sufiiciently to expose port 41 in tube 42 to the interior of compartment18 so that the fluid under high pressure in chamber 40 will flow intothe low pressure compartment 18. As the pressure in chamber 40diminishes, the springs 49 will be able to retract pistons 45 and forcemore fluid through bleeder port 73. A pair of right angle leaf removertool 7 and choke 8 are removed from the wiresprings 82, attached to thetop of piston 10 and normally pressing against cap 81, will move inward'undertheir own spring pressure in the direction of tube 42 and in sodoing will be in position to engage and hold capv 81 when the cap andattached tube 42 have moved a sufficicnt distance upward to allow thelower end of the cap 81 to pass above the upper end of the springs 82.Piston 6 and tube 42 will then remain in an upraised position until thecomplete string of fishing tool 2, choke line'13 at the surface of thewell. Thereafter socket 12 and sidewall 16 may be removed and cap .81-may be manually restored to its initial position for subsequenta'a'raoso bore comprising: a housing including a power pump sectionhaving means providing a longitudinally disposed cylinder therein, aholding section having means providing a plurality of substantiallyradially disposed cylinders therein opening to the exterior of saidhousing in spaced positions about the circumference of said holdingsection, and a pulling section having ineans providing a longitudinalcylinder therein opening downwardly; each of the cylinders having apiston movable therein; means providing a fluid conduit from thecylinder of said power pump section to each of the cylinders of saidholding section and to the cylinder of said pulling section; a hydraulicmedium in said cylinder of said power pump section and movabletherefromby movement of the piston in said cylinder through said conduitmeans to each of the cylinders in each other mentioned section; meansproviding a connection bywhich a wire line may be attached to said powerpump piston and adapted when pulled to move said pump piston in thepower pump cylinder to force said hydraulic medium from said cylinderthrough said conduitmeans to each of the cylinders of each of said othersections, said conduit means transmitting said pressurized medium tosaid holding section cylinders to force the pistons therein outwardly ofsaid cylinders to projecting positions, the outer ends of said pistonsof said holding section being adapted to forcibly engage the wall ofsaid well bore tubing to prevent longitudinal movement of said housingin said tubing, said conduit means also transmitting a hydraulic mediumto said pulling section cylinder 'to move the piston located thereinlongitudinally upwardly; said piston in said pulling section cylinderhaving depending means connected therewith extending outwardly throughthe open lower end of said cylinder of said pulling section and adaptedto have a well tool connected therewith to engage the equipment stuck insaid well bore, whereby movement of said piston in said pulling sectioncylinder applies force to said equipment stuck in said tubing, the areaof said piston in said pump section exposed to said hydraulic mediumbeing smaller than the areas of said pistons of said holding and pullingsections exposed to said hydraulic medium whereby said pistons of saidholding and pulling sections move smaller distances than said piston ofsaid pump section upon movement of said piston of said pump section sothat a mechanical advantage is gained between said piston of said pumpsection and said pistons of said other sections. 7

6. A wire operated fishing tool assembly for removing equipment from awell bore, including: a housing comprising a power section having acylinder and a plunger movable therein, a holding section having aplurality of laterally extending substantially diametrically disposedcylinders each having a piston moving longitudinally of said cylinders,each piston having means on its outer end adapted to grip the walls ofthe well bore, and a pulling section having a longitiudinally disposedcylinder formed therein and a piston movable therein and having asection extending downwardly therefrom, means on said downwardlyextending section of said piston in said cylinder of said pullingsection providing for connection of a pulling tool with said piston ofsaid pulling section to engage equipment in said well bore, means onsaid plunger providing for connecting with said plunger wire line meansoperative from the surface of said well bore to move said plunger insaid cylinder of said power section by the application of a non-rotaryupward force only, and conduit means in said housing providing forcommunication between the cylinder of the power section and thecylinders of the holding section and the cylinder of the pullingsection, and hydraulic fluid means within said cylinders and saidconduit means movable from the power section by movement of said powersection plunger in said power section cylinder to activate said holdingsection and said pulling section to forcibly lift said equipment fromsaid well bore.

7. A fishing tool assembly for removing equipment stuck in a well bore,comprising: a power operated'wire line flexibly suspending said assemblyfrom the surface of the well, a housing having hydraulic pump means inthe upper portion of said housing and connected with said wire line anddirectly operable by upwa'rd pulls on said wire line, said housing alsohaving thereon a holding means comprising a plurality of laterallydisposed substantially diametrical, cylinders each having a pistonmovable longitudinally of said cylinder and biased inwardly of saidcylinder, said pistons having means on their outer ends disposed'toengage and grip the wall of the well bore; said housing also havingthereon a pulling means in the form of a longitudinally disposedcylinder at the lower end of said housing; a piston movablelongitudinally therein and having a depending portion extending throughthe opening in the lower end of said cylinder; and a pulling tool meansconnected with the downwardly projecting portion of the piston of thepulling means and movable with said piston of said pulling means toengage and pull said stuck equipment; and a hydraulic fluid conduitconnecting said hydraulic pump with the cylinders of said holding meansto hydraulically move the pistons therein laterally outwardly of saidhousing into engagement with the wall of the well bore to hold thehousing against longitudinal movement in said well bore, and alsoconnecting said pump with the cylinder of the pulling means tohydraulically move the 'pistonupwardly in said cylinder of said pullingmeans to lift said pulling tool means to forcibly remove equipment insaid well bore by applying a much greater upward forceon said stuckequipment than said wire line is capable of transmitting from thesurface of said well.

8. A wire line operated fishing assembly for removing equipment stuck ina well bore, comprising: a housing having a cylinder provided with anopen upper end, a power piston extending upward from said housing andslidable longitudinally within said cylinder, said housing having meansproviding a plurality of horizontally disposed cylinders in its medialportion enclosed at one end and open at the other end and having theiropen ends spaced circumferentially around the exterior periphery of saidhousing; a horizontally disposed hydraulic piston in each of saidhorizontally disposed cylinders in said housing and adapted to projectradially beyond the side walls of said housing and into bindingengagement with the wall of said well bore to lock said housing againstup or down movement, means biasing said pistons inwardly of saidhorizontal openings toward retracted position; -a hydraulic conduit fromsaid first mentioned cylinder of said housing to each of saidhorizontally disposed cylinders, whereby hydraulic fluid may be forcedby said power piston through said conduit into said horizontallydisposed cylinders to project said horizontally disposed pistonsradially beyond said walls of said housing; a pulling means comprising alongitudinally extending cylinder at the lower portion of the housinghaving an opening at its lower end, and a piston slidable longitudinallyin said cylinder having a downwardly projecting stem portion extendingoutwardly through said opening; means at the lower end of said stemportion providing -a connection whereby a fishing tool may be connectedwith said stem portion and adapted to apply an upward force on saidstuck equipment in response to movement of said piston of said pullingmeans; a fluid conduit from said first mentioned cylinder of the housingto the longitudinal pulling means cylinder for conducting hydraulicfluid from said first mentioned cylinder of the housing to said pullingmeans cylinder to operate said piston insaid cylinder in response tosaid operating movements of the power piston in said upper end of thehousing; and a 'wire line connecting means at the upper end of saidpower piston adapted to be connected to a flexible wire line wherebysaid fishing tool assembly may be attached to and operated by saidflexible wire line fromthe surface of the well to move said power pistonto force hydraulic fluid from the upper end of the housing through theconduits to all of the cylinders to actuate the pistons therein, andrelease means operable upon 10. A fishing tool assembly for removingequipment stuck in a well bore including: a housing having a hydraulicpump therein; a plurality of laterally disposed cylinders in saidhousing each having a laterally movable plunger slidable thereinoutwardly of said housing into engagement with the wall of the well howto hold the housing against movement in said well bore, means biasingsaid plungers inwardly of said lateral cylinders; a hydraulic fluidconduit from said hydraulic pump to said cylinders for conductinghydraulic fluid from said pump to said cylinders to move said plungersoutwardly; a pulling means at the lower end of said housing including acylinder at the lower end of said housing extending longitudinally ofsaid housing and having an opening at its lower end; a pistonlongitudinally movable in said pulling means cylinder and having adepending section extending through said opening at the lower end ofsaid housing; a pulling tool connected to the lower end of saidprojecting portion of said pulling means piston, said pulling tool beingadapted to engage and apply a force to well equipment stuck in said wellbore; a hydraulic conduit extending from said hydraulic pump to saidpulling means cylinder at the lower end of said housing for conductinghydraulic fluid to said cylinder to move the pulling means pistontherein upwardly to lift the pulling tool; and means at the upper end ofsaid housing providing a connection between said hydraulic pump and aflexible member extending upwardly through the well bore to the surfaceof the earth for operating said hydraulic pump to force fluid throughthe conduits to the several cylinders to actuate the pistons therein.

11. A fishing tool assembly of the character set forth in claim 10wherein the hydraulic pump includes a res ervoir, means providingcommunication between the reservoir and the hydraulic fluid conduit fromthe pump to the cylinders of the holding and pulling means; and valvemeans controlling flow from said conduit to said reservoir openable torelieve hydraulic fluid pressure from said conduit into said reservoir.

12. A hydraulic fluid power tool for operating a fishing tool forremoving well equipment stuck in a well bore, said hydraulic fluid powertool including: an elongate housing having at its upper end a hydraulicfluid pump means; a plurality of laterally disposed cylinders in saidhousing below said pump means and each having a piston slidablelongitudinally therein and adapted to be projected therefrom to forciblyengage the wall of the well bore to prevent longitudinal movement ofsaid housing in said bore; means biasing said plungers inwardly of saidlateral cylinders out of projecting position; a

longitudinally extending pulling means cylinder in the lower portion ofsaid housing and having an opening at its lower end; a pulling meanspiston slidable longitudinally in said cylinder at the lower end of saidhousing and having a reduced portion projecting downwardly through theopening at the lower end of said housing; means on said projectingportion adapted to provide a connection between the pulling means pistonand a pulling tool adapted to engage a well tool; a hydraulic fluidconduit from said pump means to each of the laterally disposedcylinders, whereby hydraulic fluid pumped from said pump means to saidcylinders forces the plungers in said cylinders outwardly to projectfrom said' housing and engage the walls of the well bore; conduit meansin said housing for conducting hydraulic fluid from said hydraulic pumpmeans to the longitudinal pulling means cylinder at the lower end of thehousing to move the piston therein upwardly of said housing; and meanson the hydraulic pump means at the upper end of the housing adapted toprovide a connection between said pump means and an operating meansextending upwardly in the well bore to the surface for operating saidhydraulic pump. 13. A fishing tool assembly of the character set forthin claim 12 wherein the hydraulic pump includes a res ervoir, meansproviding communication between the reservoir and the hydraulic fluidconduit from the pump to the cylinders of the holding and pulling means;and valve means controlling flow from said conduit to said reservoiropenable to relieve hydraulic fluid pressure from said conduit into saidreservoir.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

